Our Mini-Break....

Last week DH and I had a little one night mini-break at a local Spa hotel. It will be my 50th birthday at the end of April but we decided to go away now as it's school hols and easier for my Mum to look after the kids when she doesn't have to worry about the school run.

We went to Fordoun Hotel & Spa and it was lovely. We've stayed here before (it's only 10 minutes drive from our house) so we knew what to expect but it's one of those places that never disappoints. Expensive, but well worth the money.

Our room

Our verandah

The view from the verandah

A walk through woodland

More Hadedas (I told you they were common)

Our room (far left on the end)

Another walkway leading to.....

....individual and very private bungalows

A water feature

Love birds......

Til soon.

x

12 in 12 Challenge

Hello!

Having a good week? I finally finished another of my 12 in 12 Challenge knits and here it is!!!

What do you think? I used this yarn 

which was one of those weird purchases that I loved when I bought it but grew to hate rather quickly. I'm not sure why tho because green is my most favourite of colours and this has ever conceivable shade of green in it! The texture is a bit dodgy - a little too close to those dreadful boucle yarns of the 60s - but it was very soft and I'm sure will feel wonderful to wear. I just hated it more and more so by the time the last stitch was stitched I had already decided to give it away to a friend that had admired it a lot during its creation. She loves it and wore it home the day I gave it to her so I know it's gone to someone who will wear it, love it and cherish it which is more than I would have done. I think it would have been one of my FOs that got shoved in the back of the cupboard and never again saw the light of day (and there's been a few of those in my life).....

Just quickly before I go I thought I'd show you this

which is a Hadeda (pronounced haa-dee-daa) otherwise known as the Ibis. They are enormous birds (about 76cm long) and very common in South African gardens. It was extremely misty this morning and when I opened the curtains this one was sitting on our pergola! It looked decidedly Jurassic so if I see any dinosaurs wandering about, I'll let you know.....

Til soon.

x

67 Blankets for Madiba Day 2014

Hello!

Earlier this year I became involved in a wonderful initiative that (like many other wonderful initiatives) started with a single idea by a single individual and has blossomed into a Worldwide phenomenon. It's called 67 Blankets for Madiba Day and some of you may already have heard about it but if not, HERE'S a link to a short Youtube video about how it started and what it is..... please have a look.

So I decided to knit a blanket using all the odd bits and pieces that I had in my stash. I didn't think I had very much and I envisaged buying at least 4 balls of wool at some point. I was wrong. I have completed the blanket without buying a single ball!!!

Take a look ....

I wasn't too bothered about colour co-ordination and literally just used up every scrap of yarn that I had. At the end I laid it out on my bed just as the squares came out of the bag and started crocheting them together.

Then I decided on a simple edging (thanks Lucy)....

And I could see it finally coming together.....

A quick swirl around in the bath with some Woolite and out on the line to dry....

My Beautiful Blanket for Madiba Day!!!

Til soon....

x